Marcia's Blog is a lifestyle change and dieting blog written by a beloved and respected nutritionist/weight loss counselor/lecturer Marcia Bodenstein. She has helped thousands of kosher consumers achieve and maintain weight loss.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Good Morning to all of you out there in "foodland". Where is "Foodland"?, you ask. It's everywhere! Look around - our whole lives center around food, eating it, cooking it, shopping for it, assaulted with ads for what is the best, the healthiest, the gooeyest, which food for which simcha and Yom Tov - my goodness, it's a wonder that we think of anything else! BUT our obsession has not served us well - neither collectively not individually. We are a nation of overweight, unhealthy people. 65 percent of us are considered overweight, 30 percent obese. On a personal level, has food and weight made you happy? (except for those few minutes of chewing?) Of course not. What used to be the solution is now the problem. So, why do we fall victim to what "bottomless pit" calls "that little angel on her shoulder? The one that whispers self-destructive thoughts to you -"one wont hurt", "just this time" and "you deserve a treat". Rebbetzin Jungreis in her book "The Committed Life" comments that the "yetzer hara" has the ability to temporarily blind a person. "I want it NOW, I want it ALL, and I WONT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER" - sound familiar? Solution: We must prepare for that little angel/devil when she appears. Like a part in a play we must rehearse, rehearse, rehearse before the opening night.
So, the next time you are invited out or go to a simcha or a restautant, rehearse beforehand:
What am I going to say when someone says "eat this?"
What am I going to think when the urge to overeast descends upon me?
How am I going to react when I feel hungry, knowing I am not really hungry, but feeling like I feel hungry?
How am I going to resist something that everyone seems to be enjoying and I know that this will only lead me to frustration and unhappiness?
And, most important, what can I eat beforehand so that I can go without being ravenous?
And rehearse and rehearse and know your lines so that on the night of the "big play" you are well prepared. Break a leg!!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What am I going to say when someone says "eat this?"

THANKS, BUT I JUST ATE. I'M SURE IT'S DELICIOUS.
What am I going to think when the urge to overeast descends upon me?

DO I REALLY NEED THIS? AM I REALLY HUNGRY? WHAT IS IT THAT I REALLY WANT?
How am I going to react when I feel hungry, knowing I am not really hungry, but feeling like I feel hungry?
I'M GOING TO SAY....GO OUT OF THE HOUSE...MOVE AWAY FROM THE FOOD...HAVE A HOT DRINK....WRITE DOWN FEELINGS.
How am I going to resist something that everyone seems to be enjoying and I know that this will only lead me to frustration and unhappiness?

I KNOW WHAT IT TASTE LIKE. THERE ISN'T A FOOD THAT I HAVEN'T HAD, A TASTE I HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED. I WONT BE ABLE TO STOP AT JUST A TASTE. I WORTH MORE THAN THE FOOD.
And, most important, what can I eat beforehand so that I can go without being ravenous?
SALAD, SAVE A SPECIAL TREAT TO EAT BEFORE, SOUP,
And rehearse and rehearse and know your lines so that on the night of the "big play" you are well prepared.
I LIKE THE ANALOGY TO A PLAY. I WILL TRY TO REHEARS OVER AND OVER IN MY HEAD HOW I WILL BEHAVE...INSTEAD OF HOW I USED TO BEHAVE PLAYING IN MY HEAD AND DEFEATING MYSELF.
THANK YOU MARCIA.

Anonymous said...

Just let me know when you are ready to go on stage- I'll clap the loudest.

Anonymous said...

PS
How WAS Friday night?

Anonymous said...

*taking a bow* ....*LOL*
Friday went ok....till dessert....
I ate tooooo much parve ice cream. Everything else I ate was within reason. A small piece of gefilte fish. Salad, mayo, hummous. Piece of beef, string beans and sweet potato.

Marcia...
My big question is....how do I learn to take care of myself and my food?
I have bought the vegetables, and fruit. I'm LAZY to cut the cantaloupe or bake the spaghetti squash. If my husband were on a diet...I'd prepare it for him. I make him large salads everyday for his lunch. For me...I pick the easiest quickest foods.

Anonymous said...

yoo hooo....lovetoeat....how are you doing? I haven't been perfect. I do keep getting back on though. I'm drinking lots. What I do is mix some snapple in with my water. I am not crazy for plain water. This makes the 8 glasses happen much easier.

Anonymous said...

I have the little devil on my left shoulder whispering in my ear - "come on you've been soooo good all week...."that's not working so it's "you're so stressed out- this will be some relief..."
But I'm stronger. I had a coffee in a large mug and it warmed my body and soul.